Skived container construction and method of making the same



April 14, 1942.

H. F. WATERS SKIVED CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF MAKING THE 'SAME Original Filed July 18, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' m T k m 7 5 W 9 4 4 5 2 0 a i mu 9 4;} a T 1 2 a w J 4 M Y 2 7 2 6 a )5 7 m 3/ 0% a I iwi 2 II is!!! 3 W 3 M 1% k a 1 h g I ll! F m I j I INVENTOR. HHRRYE'WHTERS ATTORNEY April 14, 1942. H. F. WATERS SKIVED CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 18, 1940 INVENTOR. H/F'R/FVFWHTEfiS in ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, 1942 SKIVED CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Harry F,- Waters, New York, N. Y.

Original application July 18, 1940, Serial No. 346,093. Divided and this application .July 12, 1941, Serial No. 402,108

9 Claims.

Heretofore, various containers were proposed for the purpose of packaging, particularly for fluid-tightly packaging commodities, including an outer carton of substantial mechanical strength and an inner liner or bag having lower mechanical strength but good fluid-tight properties. These prior fluid-tight containers were generally made by bonding a liner sheet or strip of suitable fluid-tight character'to a carton blank and then subjecting carton and liner to various forming operations. I have now discovered that the advantages of this duplex structure'may be obtained at a considerably lower cost and by means of greatly simplified operations.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a container particularly for the purpose of fluid-tight packaging which is constituted of an integral sheet of flexible material converted into a multi-layer structure in predetermined regions thereof.

It is another object of the invention to provide .from the conventional practice .of spotting or bonding a liner to a cardboard blank and which Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a plan view of an integral sheet of flexible material which is skived at the marginal portions thereof to form a blank for a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig- 2 depicts a vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and being somewhat fragmentary and greatly exaggerated in thickness for reasons of clarity;

Fig. ,3 shows the blank illustrated in Figs. ,1 and 2 after the cutting and scoring operations;

Fig. 4 is a somewhat fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of the blank shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 illustrates a plan view of the container of the invention after the heat-sealing Opera'- tion;

Fig. 6 depicts a fragmentary perspective view showing the container of the invention in the completed tubular form and in partially squared up condition in which the marginal portions of one of the end panels is adhesively secured to the glue flap of the main body of the container;

Fig. '7 shows a perspective view of the upper portion of the container in its squared-up position and ready for filling;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the container after filling with the upper terminal portions of the employs a construction in which the reinforcing carton and the fluid-tight liner are integrally formed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of producing a container in and which has integrally connected multi-layer structure in the end or flap portions thereof.

It is also within the contemplation of the invention to provide a method of producing a skived container construction in which an integral sheet of flexible material is converted into a container of multi-layer construction by means of incisions parallel to the plane thereof and which is simplein character vand'inexpensive to manufacture. I

The invention also contemplates a novel methed for converting a single and integral'sheet of flexible material into a container-of duplex constructionby means of skiving, cutting-scoring and sealing operations.

inner layer folded down in the plane defined by the upper edgeslof the main body of the container and provided with a transverse seal; and

.Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the upper portions of the container in its completely closed position and with portions of the top closure flaps broken away'for clarity of illustration.

Broadly stated, in accordance with the prin- "ciples of my invention, I provide an integral sheet of flexible material such as, for'example, a sheet of cardboard or'of a similar board of cellulosic material. I prefer to provide one face of this sheet with a suitable layer or coating of a thermoplastic and fluid-tight material such as, for example, Pliofilm, Koroseal, Vinylite, and the like. Hereafter, I provide incisions in the mar;-

ginal regions of this sheet or board in a direction parallel to the plane thereof. This may be ac-.

complished by means of various devices such as a skiver having a cutter blade which may be adjusted with great accuracy to cut into the thickness of the material and to separate it into a plurality of layers without injuring any of such layers. Thus, the original integral sheetor board has been converted into one which is of a. single layer structure in the main or body portions thereof and has an integrally connected multilayer structure in certain marginal regions thereof. This blank is now provided with incisions in the regions thereof where it has more than one layer, said incisions being of such character that they vertically extend through at least v of the described character is in most respects the equivalent of a container in which a liner sheet isadhesively secured to a separate carton blank of appropriate character.

The novel blank thus obtained may be readily converted into a container by folding it along a medial score line so that its coated side will be inside of the folded structure. This will bring the side and bottom edges of the inner surface into substantially overlapping position so that they may be secured together, for example by means of a suitable heat-sealing device. One of the end panels obtained may be adhesively secured to a glue flap provided at the other extremity of the blank whereby a tubular carton structure is obtained. The container of the invention may be stored or shipped in this condition and may be squared up for the purpose of filling. After filling, the inner layer which is coated with a thermoplastic and fluid-tight material may be separately sealed with a transverse top seal and the top flaps constituting the outer layer of the skived sheet will form closure flaps which may be closed thereafter, as it will be explained more fully hereinafter.

Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention will be described in which the concept of the invention is applied to a six-sided box. Reference character I generally denotes a sheet or board of flexible material such as cardboard, pasteboard, or the like. Although this sheet or board in itself may be a laminated product, for the purpose of the invention it is assumed to be an integral material having a uniform structure throughout} This sheet or board is laminated or coated on-one face thereof with a suitable thermoplastic mateor body portion l2 thereof and having a two layer structure along a U-shaped marginal area l3. Preferably these incisions made by the skiver are so arranged that the outer layer I4 is of a much greater thickness than the inner layer l5 bearing the thermoplastic coating or layer l I, as this will be observed in Fig. 2. Thus, the outer layer, which subsequently will form the closure flaps of the finished container, is of greater rigidity and strength than the inner layer bearing the coating of thermoplastic material which subsequently will form the liner of the finished container.

The sheet thus formed and skived is now provided with incisions in a direction vertical to the plane of the sheet, the depth of said incisions being so adjusted that it will extend merely through the outer layer of the skived region but leaves the inner or liner layer integral. These vertical incisions are denoted by reference characters l6, l1, l8 and ill at the top edge of the sheet and similar incisions 20, 2|, 22 and 23 are provided at the bottom edge of the sheet. In addition, a similar incision is made along lines 25 and 26 of the sheet whereby an L-shaped portion of the outer layer in the skived region may be removed. Longitudinal score lines 21, 28, 29 and 30 are provided in the skived and slitted sheetand cooperate with transverse score lines 3| and 32 to define main panels 33 and 34 and end panels 35 and 36. As it will be best observed in Fig. 3, main panel 33 is provided with top and bottom closure flaps 31 and 38, respectively, and main panel 34 is provided with top and bottom flaps 39 and 40, respectively. End panel 35 is provided with top and bottom closure flaps 4| and 42, respectively, and end panel 36 is provided with similar top and bottom closure flaps 43 and 44, respectively. A medial score line is provided in both end panels 35 and 36 and is denoted by reference characters 45 and 46, respectively. Glue flap 4'! is formed at the right extremity of the blank, the operationof which will presently appear. Thus, it will be noted and it will be readily observed in Fig. 4 that the foregoing operation converted sheet or board In into a structure having an integral thermoplastic-coated inner lining and having a reinforcing outer carton formed therewith. The main body of the carton and of the liner are in common while in the marginal regions the outer layer is separated therefrom and takes the form of hingedly connected closure flaps.

The blank of the described character may be converted into a container by folding it about score line 46 in the center of end panel 36. This operation will provide the structure depicted in Fig. 5. It will be noted that the bottom and the right-side marginal portions of the inner or liner layer are exposed and are lying fiat on the correspending portions of the outer layer. Heat and pressure may be applied to this flattened folded blank along an L-shaped marginal region 48 whereby the inner or liner layer will be sealed at the bottom and side edges, leaving only the top edge thereof open for the introduction of the contents. After this sealing operation, end panel 35 may be folded about its longitudinal medial line 45 and may be adhesively secured to glue flap 41. Thus, the outer layer will be converted into a tubular carton structure while the inner or liner layer will form a bladder or bag within this outer layer. This may be seen in Fig. 6 which is a perspective view of the upper portions of the finished container. Of course, the container is preferably stored and shipped in the completely flattened condition in which it requires a minimum of storage space. When it is desired to fill the container of the invention, the knockeddown or flattened container is squared up into the shape illustrated in Fig. '7. It will be noted that in this squared up condition the carton is closely similar to the container disclosed in my April 12, 1940, now Patent No. 2,228,647, granted January '14, 1941. The difference resides in the body portion of the container in which the liner or inner'layer and the carton or outer layer are integrally connected same as they were in the original sheet while at the top and bottom extremities of the container the outer layer forms hingedly connected closure flaps extending independently and disconnected from the inner or liner layer. Likewise, the sealed region 48 is converted into a lateral fin 48a extending in the direction of end panel 35. In this squared up condition, the bottom portions of theinner or liner layer form tabs which may be tucked in and the corresponding flaps may be closed thereabout. Hereafter, the container may be filled with any desired commodity by means of a; conventional filling device. After the filling operation has been completed, the top portions of the inner or liner layer extending beyond the hinge lines of the container may be brought together and provided with a completely flat transverse top seal 49 in which only two layers of material are in a face to face relation. Although this top seal may be provided in various ways, I prefer to provide it by means of a suitable heat-sealing device and to apply it in the way it is disclosed, for example, in my copending application Serial No. 329,254. After the top portion'of the inner liner layer has been sealed, top closure flaps 3T, 39, 4| and 43 may be closed thereabout providing a finished package shown in Fig. 9. Likewise, the bottom portion of the package is closed in similar manner by means of closure flaps 38, 40, 42 and 44.

It will be noted that the container produced by the method of the invention provides all of the advantages of a duplex fluid-tightccntainer by means of a greatly simplified structure. While in prior fluid-tight collapsible containers an entirely separate inner liner was'formed to a bag and was inserted into or was simultaneously formed with an outer reinforcing carton, in the structure in the top and bottom portions thereof.

It is also to be observed that, due to the special 3 construction of the container of the invention, it

may be hermetically sealed and may be advantageously used for holding commodities in a hermetically sealed condition. Moreover, the container of the invention is extremely simple in structure and may be readily produced on a practical and industrial scale at a low cost.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, to wit: applied to a six-sided container, it may be employed with equal or similar results in containers of other types such as foursided containers, containers in which lap type seams rather than turned fin-type seams are employed, etc. I consider all of these variations and modifications as within the true spirit and scope of the present invention as disclosedin the foregoing description and defined by the appended claims.

The present application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 346.093, filed July 18, 1940.

I claim:

1. The method of making fluid-tight containers which comprises providing a flexible sheet bearing fluid-tight and fusible material at least on one face thereof, skiving said sheet in marginal regions thereof to separate the same into hingedly connected inner and outer layers in such regions, said inner layer bearing said fusible material, bringing together the edges'of said inner layer into a face to face position and heat-sealing said edges to form a fluid-tightly confined packaging space, and bringing together the edges of the corresponding portions of said outer layer to provide a reinforcing structure for said packaging space. 1

2. The method of making containers which comprises providing skived incisions in marginal regions. of a flexible sheet to separate said sheet into hingedly connected inner and outer layers in such regions, providing vertical incisions in said outer-layer to convert said layer into a plue rality of flaps, selectively securing the edges of said inner layer together independentof said outer layer to form an at least partially confined packaging space, and. then folding the flaps of said outer layer thereaboutto provide a reinforcing structure for said packaging space.

3. The method of making fluid-tight containers which comprises providing skived incisions in marginal regions of a flexible sheet bearing fluid-tight and fusible material on one face thereof to separate said sheet into connected inner and outer layers in such regions, said inner layer bearing said fusible material, providing vertical incisions in said outer layer to convert said layer into a plurality of flaps but leaving said inner layer continuous, bringing together the edges of said inner layer into a face to face relation and heat-sealing said edges to form a fluidtightly confined packaging space, and then fold-' ing said flaps about the ends of said packaging space to provide a reinforcing and protective structure for said space. I

4. The method of making fluid-tight containers which comprises providing skived incisions in marginal region of a flexible sheet bearing fluidtight and fusible material on one face thereof to separate said sheet into connected inner and outer layers in such regions, said inner layer bearing said fusible material, scoring said sheet along a plurality of longitudinal lines to define pairs of main and end panels, providing vertical incisions in said outer layer to convert said layer into top and bottom flaps for said panels but leaving said inner layer fluid-tight and continuous, bringing together the edges of said inner layer into a face to face relation, heat-sealing said edges to form a fluid-tightly confined packaging space, and then folding said flaps about the ends of said packaging space to provide a reinforcing and protective structure for said space.

5. vThe method of making containers in knocked-down form which comprises scoring a quadrangular sheet of flexible cellulosic material bearing fluid-tight thermoplastic material at least on one face thereof along at least four spaced longitudinal lines and along at least two spaced transverse lines thereby to define opposed pairs of main and end panels constituting the body portion of said container, providing skived incisions in the areas of said sheet beyond said body portion to separate the same into an inner thermoplastic covered liner layer and an outer reinforcing layer, providing vertical incisions in said outer reinforcing layer to define top and bottomfiaps for said-main and end panels, and bonding the marginal regions of said inner liner layer fluid-tightly together along an L-shaped strip to form an erectable fluid-tight container including an outer tubular reinforcing element with hingedly connected closure flaps at each end thereof and an inner fluid-tight element within said reinforcing element, said elements having their body portion integrally formed and having their top and bottom portions separable for closure independent from each other.

6. The method of making containers in knocked-down form which comprises scoring a quadrangular sheet of flexible cellulosic material bearing fluid-tight thermoplastic material at least on one face thereof along at least four spaced transverse lines thereby to define opposed pairs of main and end panels constituting the body portion of said container, providing skived incisions in the areas of said sheet beyond said body portion to separate the same into an inner thermoplastic-covered liner layer and an outer reinforcing layer, providing vertical incisions in said outer reinforcing layer to define top and bottom flaps for said main and end panels, folding said sheet along a line to bring the marginal regions of said inner liner layer into face to face position, and then applying heat and pressure throughout an L-shaped strip in said regions to bond the edges of the liner layer fluid-tightly together and to form an erectable fluid-tight container including an outer tubular reinforcing element with hingedly connected closure flaps at each end thereof and an inner fluidtight element within said reinforcing element,

said elements having their body portion integrally formed and having their top andbottom portions separable for closure independent from each other.

7. The method of making containers in erectable flattened form which comprises scoring a sheet of flexible material bearing fluid-tight thermoplastic material on one face thereof along six spaced longitudinal lines and along two transverse lines thereby to define opposed pairs of main and end panels and a glue flap constituting the body portion of said container, two of the longitudinal score line being medial lines in a pair of opposed panels on which said container is collapsed, providing skived, incisions in marginal areas of said sheet beyond said body portion to separate the same into an inner thermoplastic-covered liner layer and an outer reinforcing layer within said marginal areas, providing vertical incisions insaid outer reinforcing layer to deflne top and bottom flaps for said main and end panels, bonding the lateral edges of said inner layer fluid-tightly together, and then securing the lateral terminal portions of one of said panels to said glue flap to form an erectable container including an outer tubular reinforcing element with hingedly connected closure flaps at each end thereof and an inner fluidtight liner element within said reinforcing elements, said elements having their body portion integrally formed and having their top and bottom portions separable for closure independent from each other.

8. The method of making a container blank which comprises providing incisions in a sheet of flexible material parallel to the plane thereof thereby'separating restricted regions of said sheet into inner and outer layers, and providing incisions within said restricted regions extending vertically through one of said layers but leaving the other of said layers continuous, the terminal portions of said inner and of said outer layers being adapted to be selectively secured together to provide a container structure of a single-layer character in the body portion thereof and of a duplex character in the end portions thereof.

9. The method of making a blank for a fluidtight container which comprises providing incisions in a sheet of flexible material fluid-tight and fusible on at least one face parallel to the plane thereof thereby separating restricted regions of the sheet into connected inner and outer layers one of which bears said fusible surface, and providing incisions within said restricted regions extending vertically through one of said layers but leaving the layer with the fusible,face continuous, the terminal portions of said continuous layer being adapted to be fluid-tightly fused together independent from the corresponding portions of the other layer. 4

HARRY F. WATERS. 

